‘It’s About The River’
Janet Phillips has been named “2019 Reno-Sparks Citizen of the Year” by RGJ

The Truckee River rushes over the spillway at Lake Tahoe Dam, meanders and then plunges through the Truckee Canyon down to Reno, an elevation drop of 1,700 feet. But building the modern-day path along the Truckee has been an uphill effort, one that has been going on for 16-plus years.

At the forefront of the project is Janet Phillips, president of the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail. This past October, Phillips and her organization — and the countless volunteers, engineers and construction crews — were able to tackle one of the trail’s most intractable sections.

Anyone who has ever driven along Interstate 80 through the canyon has done so at freeway speeds, keeping one eye on the guardrail and the other on the semi in the next lane. Thanks to Phillips’ vision and effort, residents and visitors are able to visit the canyon at a pace more suitable for enjoying Northern Nevada’s majestic, previously inaccessible vistas. The path connecting Tahoe and Reno-Sparks also connects Northern Nevadans with the natural environment.

That’s why we have named Janet Phillips as RGJ’s 2019 Citizen of the Year.

From the Reno Gazette Journal, Dec 29, 2019 <Full Article – Links to Reno Gazette Journal website>